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It truly is a sad day in Washington, as one of the longest continuous traditions in Redskins history in no more. The Hogettes are calling it quits. From their Facebook page:

After 30 seasons, the Hogettes are hanging up our pig snouts & dresses.

It has been an honor being a part of the greatest 12th Man fans in the NFL.

We will forever be Redskins’ fans and cheer for our beloved team.

It is a new era and we will continue to support RG3 and his teammates.

HAIL TO THE REDSKINS!!!

We will also continue to help (incognito) raise money for Children’s Charities.

Mikey T.

Boss Hogette

It’s certainly an odd tradition to have grown men show up to games at RFK and FedEx Field in drag and pig snouts, but it’s one that Skins fans know and appreciate. They are members of the the Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton, Ohio largely for their philanthropic work, raising over $100 million for local charities.

Redskins fans have long dealt with outsiders admonishing the team’s nickname for being racially insensitive and offensive. It’s nothing new and it certainly won’t go away. After losing in the playoffs, Courtland Milloy knew what he had to do. Call out all fans of the team and blame the loss on karma.

Below is my response to Milloy’s column terrible attack on the Redskins franchise, the team, and fans.

[Bold text is Milloy’s words, plain text is mind]

So, Washington football fans, how’s that offensive team name and demeaning sports mascot working out? Whooping and hollering as RGIII goes on a “Redskins” warpath only to leave a trail of tears when his wounded knee gets buried at FedEx Field.

Yup, the reason the Redskins lost to the Seahawks on Sunday wasn’t because of the Seahawks defense selling out on the run because of a hobbled Griffin, the terrible turf at FedEx Field, suspect tackling by the defense, or even RGIII tearing his ACL . It’s because we’re all racists. Yeah, that’s the reason they lost. Good use of the “trail of tears” though, because football, forced relocation have so much in common.

In this obscene home team sports fantasy, the gifted Robert Griffin III was reduced to a “noble savage.” Let the “Redskin” play hurt. He can take it. Hail to the young brave-hearted quarterback as he limps into battle on that injured knee. Three cheers as he fights on his one good leg for Old D.C.

wat.

And when he’s felled during Sunday’s playoff game against the Seattle Seahawks, bringing the postseason to an ugly and immensely unsatisfying end — torn ligaments no doubt shortening his own career as well — Washington gasps in horror.

Bad karma, I tell you, that team name.

THE SPORTS GODS HAVE NOTICED OUR SINS AND REIGNED DOWN HELL AND FIRE UPON US. RUN FOR COVER. Clearly a higher power has reached down upon the field in Landover and ripped Griffin’s anterior cruciate ligament. That’ll show ’em!

Now don’t go trying to prove otherwise by digging up some ancient Washington victory from back in, say, Joe Gibbs’s early days. This is a new era. Attitudes are changing; progressive thinking is emerging on everything from guns, gays and gas guzzling to debt, deficits and doctor bills.

So supposedly being racist was all well and good in the ’80s and ’90s, but God totally changed his mind on that. He’s a progressive now. He realizes it’s a different time. He went to some seminar that totally blew his mind and he had a change of heart. He decided enough was enough: Let’s blow out Griffin’s knee.

Besides, Washington’s professional football team has raked up one disappointing season after another since 1992 — the year D.C. resident Suzan Harjo became the lead plaintiff in a lawsuit seeking to change the team’s disparaging name.

Although Harjo lost that legal battle on a technicality, a group of younger Native Americans have filed a similar lawsuit — Blackhor se et al v. Pro-Football, Inc. Justice may yet be served.

Because if the justice system won’t rule in our favor, we’ll go to a higher power to seek retribution.

“The term ‘redskins’ is the most vile and offensive term used to describe Native Americans,” Harjo told the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs in 2011. “It is most disturbing to the overwhelming majority of Native Americans throughout the country that the professional football team in the nation’s capital uses a team name that demeans us.”

Does anyone really believe that the name “Redskins” will survive the 21st century? Other than the people who probably thought white actors in blackface would survive the 20th? The genocide of Native peoples, like America’s other original sin, slavery, cannot be forever masked with caricatures of the dead.

Like the Trail of Tears analogy you used earlier? You may have been trying to illustrate a point, but damn, you’re doing the same thing you admonish.

Next month, on Feb. 7, the National Museum of the American Indian on the Mall will hold a day-long symposium and “community conversation” about the use of racist stereotypes and cultural appropriation in American sports. In a recent news release about the event, museum Director Kevin Gover wrote: “What better place to address this issue. . . . The Smithsonian Institution is the ideal forum to bring people together to ask tough questions.”

I hope so, although I suspect that the most diehard football fans have only two ways of dealing with these kinds of disagreements: racist Internet comments — and fistfights in the stands.

Because those are the only forms of reason football fans cling to. We’re all racists that can’t sit down and have a serious and frank conversation about what many call our racially insensitive team moniker. We’ll never do that, because us racist football fans don’t know how, SO WHY TALK WHEN WE CAN JUST GO KICK SOME ASS, YOU GUYS!

For those who claim that “Redskins” is an honorific to Native peoples, as team owner Dan Snyder does, representatives from several Indian nations will be on hand to tell you what they really think about that name. By the way, while Washington was weighed down with that tired old caricature of an Indian head on their helmets, Seattle was sporting a lighthearted Seahawk based on an ancient Northwest Coast Native carved totem design. They didn’t just score more touchdowns; they won on style points, too.

So the final score wasn’t 24-14? How many style points shall you award to the Seahawks, Mr. Milloy? 10? 15? Man, a 39-14 game sure sounds like a blowout. They got soundly beaten then, huh? And it’s all because of that racist name and karma. Gotcha.

The subject of the “community conversation” will be, you guessed it, the name of Washington’s professional football team. It should be quite lively. The moderator will be Philip J. Deloria of the Standing Rock Sioux, an associate dean of undergraduate education at the University of Michigan’s College of Literature, Science and the Arts and author of the books “Playing Indian” and “Indians in Unexpected Places.”

He will be joined by Judith Bartnoff, deputy presiding judge of the District of Columbia Superior Court’s Civil Division; the Rev. Graylan Hagler of Plymouth Congregational United Church of Christ and former president of Ministers for Racial, Social and Economic Justice; Robert I. Holden, deputy director of the National Congress of American Indians; Erik Brady, a sports reporter for USA Today; and my Washington Post colleague, sports columnist Mike Wise.

Ok, now Milloy just sounds like he’s doing PR for this symposium. I get it now.

Take your children to the event. Then ask them if the name “Redskins” is offensive. Better still, ask yourself.

At first I thought it was a pathway to Narnia. Then I figured it was where Robert Griffin III hooked himself up to the machine that gives him all his abilities.

But, alas, it is only a shed for medical examinations. EB from the 106.7 The Fan’s Sports Junkies snapped a few pictures of the interior of that shed at FedEx Field where Griffin has gone after numerous in-game injuries. Not exciting as a pathway to Narnia, but whatever. I’m sure Danny Snyder already has one, but he won’t share it with the rest of us till he can find a way to increase the profit margins.

After just four games, the Redskins sit atop* the NFC East at 2-2, barely coming out ahead in both wins. We saw again on Sunday the positives of the offense in the first half, and the extreme negatives which have nearly put the team at 0-4 on the year in the second half. Let’s give out some awards to yesterday’s winners and losers:

Take That – It was nice to hear the ovation Donovan got in his first game back in Philadelphia, but it was even better to hear the silence after the 31-yard touchdown to Cooley in the first quarter. His performance and the awful performance by Kevin Kolb brought up some important questions: Why did they trade him? Was playing Kolb really a better plan than keeping the best quarterback in franchise history? The game probably would have had a different outcome if Vick had not been injured, but that’s football. Injuries happen.

It still feels weird to see Donovan McNabb in a Redskin jersey, but I love him none the less. He’s been the sparkplug that’s charged the offense (even if it’s stagnant at times). His speech in the locker room shows that while he may not have wanted to be here, he’s still dedicated to the cause, and for that I thank him.

Salty to Super – Albert Haynesworth did exactly what he was brought here to do: wreak havoc on the opposing offensive line. He drew double teams and was an enormous (tehe) presence at the line of scrimmage.

Tazmanian Torain – Notched 73 yards rushing with a lot of them coming late. Sorry Mr Portis, but I think we found our running back. Oh, and his touchdown was dirrrrrrty!

Making Banks – Brought up Saturday and activated forSunday, Brandon Banks was huge on special teams, includign his first punt return which he took back 53 yards. He was taken out later in the game but he made a huge contribution to the win.

Orakpwnd – Brian Orakpo is the best player on the Redskins defense but he won’t get the stats if he keeps getting held. Yes, it helps to get the holding calls to back up the offense, but it hurts him as a player.

Brickhands – Carlos Rogers had an EASY AS ALL HELL opportunity to the end the game and… he dropped it. Would have been better off tipping the ball up and catching in gingerly in a bread basket. C’mon man, you have to get those.

Hard-hits – DeAngelo Hall and Kareem Moore’s hit on Vick to knock him out of the game, Carlos Rogers hit on LeSean McCoy that left him shaky and nearly unable to walk… the Redskins defense was aggressive and unrelenting in their pursuit of the ball and they laid absolutely vicious hits on the Eagles. That’s how you play football.

We’re #31! – The Skins no longer have the worst defense in the league! Statistically of course.

Bid-adieu – How is Jason Bidwell still on the team after consistently kicking worse than I did in high school? His 15 yard punt to set up the Eagles last drive was nothing short of dreadful.

GTFO – Stephon Heyer… just go.

Barkley backs up his word – The Sixers legend backed up his words when he said he would be wearing a burgundy and gold jersey at the Linc to support Donovan McNabb. That takes balls, but honestly, who would mess with his anyway? [Pic comes via DC Sports Bog]

[Update: Clinton Portis via the Redskins PR department has issued an apology. See bottom of post for that.]

Clinton Portis has always been an outspoken person, letting his comments fly, seemingly without any prior thought to the situation. This morning on the Mike Wise Show on 106.7 The Fan was no different.

[Note: Holden Kushner and Brian Mitchell were hosting the show. Mike Wise is out all week.]

“You know man, I think you put women reporters in the locker room in positions to see guys walking around naked, and you sit in the locker room with 53 guys, and all of the sudden you see a nice woman in the locker room, I think men are gonna tend to turn and look and want to say something to that woman. For the woman, I think they make it so much that you can’t interact and you can’t be involved with athletes, you can’t talk to these guys, you can’t interact with these guys.

“And I mean, you put a woman and you give her a choice of 53 athletes, somebody got to be appealing to her. You know, somebody got to spark her interest, or she’s gonna want somebody. I don’t know what kind of woman won’t, if you get to go and look at 53 men’s packages. And you’re just sitting here, saying ‘Oh, none of this is attractive to me.’ I know you’re doing a job, but at the same time, the same way I’m gonna cut my eye if I see somebody worth talking to, I’m sure they do the same thing.”

So apparently cat-calling is a completely normal thing for Portis and it would be impossible for a female reporter to not jump on one of these athletes and look for a go-round when they step in the locker room and see athletes naked. Sounds very Roethlisberger-esque to me. Sainz and other female reporters are not there to fraternize, they are there to do their jobs. They know this. Portis and other athletes apparently do not. This kind of attitude is something I’ve come to expect from professional or collegiate athletes (though not all), but to think the reporters are there to find someone to hook up with is a ridiculous notion. At least they are professional enough to realize that. There’s a big difference between looking at someone beautiful and verbally harassing them because of how they look.

This is not a conversation of how female reporters are dressed, though they should always dress professionally, but to how athletes respond to women because of the way they feel they deserve the attention. Not everyone has the idea that women are around simply to throw themselves at men. They are professionals and they are there to do their jobs.

It doesn’t matter if you’re going to “cut” your eye, but it doesn’t mean they are there to do the same. The Roethlisberger situation, as well as this one, has shown that professional athletes need to show more respect to women in every manner of life whether it is at a bar, a club, in the locker room or out on the street. Now that’s something they need to add to the rookie symposium.

[Statement from the NFL: “The comments are clearly inappropriate, offensive and and have no place in the NFL,” league spokesman Greg Aiello said in a statement (tweeted by The New York Times’ Judy Battista). “We have contacted the Redskins & they will discuss the matter directly w/Mr. Portis.”]

[The Redskins are expected to release a statement later today. I’ll be sure to post that here on DMV Sports as well.]

“I was wrong to make the comments I did, and I apologize. I respect the job that all reporters do. It is a tough job and we all have to work and act in a professional manner. I understand and support the team on these issues.”

I’m sure I could write a few thousand words about last night’s game, but I’ll keep it short and in bullet form so it’s a bit easier to follow.

-First off: Wow. Wow. And wow. That was another prime example of why this rivalry is as heated as it is. It came down to the last play which actually could have gone either way if it weren’t for a dumb offensive lineman. But you won’t see me complaining about a win. A win is a win is a win. And that was a win. Did I mention that was a win.

-As much as I hate on DeAngelo Hall’s tackling inabilities, that strip, return and TD won the game last night. On the flipside of that play, what were the Cowboy’s doing? The play call was awful and Romo’s decision to toss it short for what would obviously be little to no gain was atrocious… in a good way. I nearly put a smiley face emoticon after that sentence.

-The defense shined as I knew they would. For some reason, the Redskins defense never gets the kind of respect they deserve. Last night, they showed the league they are capable of holding last year’s number two defense and a popular Super Bowl pick, to just seven points. Haslett was aggressive in his play calling and put a lot of pressure on the offensive line. My one qualm is with the safety and corner blitzes. They weren’t effective and resulted in Dez Bryant and Miles Austin getting open too many times.

-I’ve heard people say the Cowboys lost that game themselves, and while they did shoot themselves in the foot in so many important situations, the Redskins won that game. The Cowboys had little option but to intentionally hold the defensive pass rush, including Alex Barron on Brian Orakpo on that final play. Yes, the Cowboys had tons of penalties, but they were penalties that actively prevented Redskins players from being able to be effective.

-Donovan McNabb looked shaky in his first start in the burgundy and gold but found Santana Moss and Chris Cooley when he needed to. I have no doubt he’ll be able to pick it up this season, but tonight was pretty ugly. The offensive line was adequate against a good pass rush. The running game? Oh the running game. The BIG difference is they made no mistakes.

-Burgundy jerseys. Gold pants. Yes.

-Not enough can be said about the enthusiasm of all the Redskins fans at FedEx Field last night. They were there early, they were loud and they certainly influenced the game. A lot of people have said this rivalry has lost its luster since the glory days, but don’t tell the 90,000 people at the game last night. That was the biggest game at FedEx in years.

-Albert Haynesworth is a salty bitch. Nice facial expression ALL GAME, you dummy.

There is no more hated team by Redskins fans than that of the Dallas Cowboys making the lead-up to any game against the Texas franchise a heated one. In 2010, the Redskins will take that intensity to the next level with a number of opportunities for fans of the team to get ready for the 8 p.m. kickoff on September 12.

The most notable difference from any other week of the NFL season is that the parking lots will open for tailgating at noon for the eight p.m. game so fans can get enough “soda” in them to get them ready for what many fans consider the biggest home game of the season. They will also set up five video boards around the stadium so fans can catch all the action of the 1 p.m. and 4p p.m. games. You can bet that the atmosphere will be a lot different from the usual games at FedEx. More time to tailgate, night game, and the organization stepping up Beat Dallas week will all play a factor in the way FedEx feels September 12.

The Redskins will also be pushing efforts to pump up Redskins fans around the area during the week.

Redskins will kick off on Tuesday with official proclamations from the District, Loudon, Fairfax, Prince George’s and Montgomery counties including wagers between Texas counterparts on the outcome of the game.

Daniel Snyder owned ESPN 980 will broadcast live from Morton’s The Steakhouse in DC for a day long”Beat Dallas” party on Wednesday. Honk if you Hate Dallas day is Thursday with Redskins personalities spread throughout the area encouraging commuters to, well, honk if you hate Dallas.

My personal favorite event will be Friday when the Redskins cheerleaders will be on the Today Show handing out “Beat Dallas” t-shirts to the crowd. Oh, how I wish I could be in New York on Friday.

The organization will also take part in giving back to the community, including players handing out backpacks of school supplies as well appearances by Redskins players, coaches, and owner Daniel Snyderaround the area.

The scheduling could not have been better with the Redskins playing Dallas on week one for Sunday Night Football on NBC. It’s great to have football back.

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DMV Sports – Alex Keckeisen

DMV Sports in a nutshell

I'm a journalism and political science major at the University of Missouri, though originally from Alexandria, VA. I grew up reading the Washington Post Sports section and attending games all over the DMV. I cover the Redskins, Capitals, Nationals, DC United and Wizards from an insider's view, even though I'm 1,000 miles away.